China’s manufacturing sector barely grew last month after stalling in September, a private survey showed, while an extended contraction in export orders highlighted rising pressure on the economy as a trade war with the United States intensified. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October, released on Thursday, edged up to 50.1 from 50.0 in September. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 49.9, just off the 50-mark that divides expansion from contraction. The rather shallow growth last month was in line with an official PMI survey released on Wednesday that showed China’s manufacturing sector expanded at the weakest pace in over two years. The brittleness in the vast factory sector, a major domestic and global driver of growth, backs expectations of […]